Learning From the Experts at BAC O’Connor

A qualitative research project involving clients of the structured day care programme at BAC O’Connor provided insights into the positive effects of the programme, as well as the factors that contributed to these beneficial effects. (2,302 words) *

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Recovery, Reintegration, and Anti-Discrimination: Julian Buchanan

Key research highlighting the social exclusion that dependent drug users experience, and the difficulties they face in trying to reintegrate. Julian Buchanan describes a model for integrating problematic drug users back into mainstream society. (2,756 words)

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Rehabilitation @ The BAC O’Connor Centre. Women of Courage: UK TV

This is a short documentary which was aired on ‘This Morning’ (UK) on 2nd July 2007. Noreen Oliver shares her journey from being alcohol dependent to recovery and talks about the BAC O’Connor Centre in East Staffordshire, the successful treatment centre she set up to change individuals lives in a positive way, where they receive support to address their drug & alcohol and related issues by undergoing an evidence based rehabilitation programme. 29 April 2012. [8’54”]

Learning About Addiction Treatment, Part 7

I continue my story about what I learnt about addiction recovery and treatment from Noreen Oliver, and her staff and clients, during my visits to the structured day care programme at BAC O’Connor back in 2004. (See here for my first blog post relating to these visits).

The majority of the clients at BAC O’Connor had severe and chaotic drug and/or alcohol use, a variety of other problems, including being homeless, and a strong engagement in criminal activities. Many referrals came from criminal justice services. The supported housing programme allowed BAC O’Connor to house and rehabilitate this particularly vulnerable population of clients.

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Learning About Addiction Treatment, Part 6

I earlier began a series of blog posts (starting here) describing what I learnt about addiction, addiction recovery and addiction treatment after I had closed down my neuroscience laboratory in the early 2000s. I started visiting a local treatment agency, local treatment agency West Glamorgan Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (WGCADA), in Swansea, South Wales. At the same time, I was conducting an evaluation of projects supported by the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Fund in Wales.

I continue this series of blog posts by describing what happened, and what I learnt, after I first visited the treatment agency BAC O’Connor in 2004. Here is the start of a new story, one where I saw recovery literally oozing out of the walls of a building.

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